Caryn Dolley
FOUR days before the suspect dubbed the “Facebook rapist” was arrested, he posted a message on the social network denying he had hurt or killed any models – but admitted he had stolen from them.
The man, who goes by the name Thomas Bester – one of at least 13 alleged aliases – was arrested in Alberton last Wednesday, moments after allegedly kidnapping a woman.
But police realised he may be the “Facebook rapist” only two days later, when he called an officer working on the case to say he was in custody.
Bester was wanted in connection with a string of crimes, including the rapes of two women in Durban in August and the murder of a Pretoria model in Milnerton last month.
Fours days before his arrest, Bester, on a Facebook account under one of his aliases, Kelly Young, posted this message: “THE STORY RUINING UP AND DOWN IN SA BUT POINT ONE AND I HAVE ONE FB ACC ALL THE ACC THAT YOU RUN YOUR STORY ON IS NOT MY! I HAVE BE GET LAPTOP AND THINGS FORM MODELS BUT HAVE NOT KILL OR RAP IN MY DOG LIFE SO SORRY FOR THE BAD ONE IS DONE.”
Police yesterday confirmed the account was being run by Bester and interpreted it as Bester saying he had stolen from models, but had not raped or murdered anyone.
Another Facebook account, under the name Tom Bester, also confirmed to be run by Bester, had an image of Jesus as a profile picture.
The language Bester used on each account differed markedly.
Previously, Anton Booysen, KwaZulu-Natal head of the Psychologically Motivated Crimes Unit, said Bester was suspected of being a sociopath with schizophrenic tendencies.
Yesterday, Lieutenant-Colonel Will Lombard, of the Durban police, said psychiatrists would assess Bester for psychological problems.
He said Bester, who was transported from Alberton to Durban, was expected to appear in a Durban court either today or tomorrow.
Haden Searles, the Durban North-Umhlanga Community Police Forum chairman, said:
“The moment the first rape occurred (on August 19) to last Friday, we literally chased his shadow. At stages, we were literally missing him by minutes.”